I’m not one to throw the “patriotism” card around lightly but a lot of what the Cheney-plus-Daughter Vaudeville Act has been putting out there is pretty damn unpatriotic, if you ask me. Not in the sense that Cheney expressing his views is wrong, it’s that he appears to be trying to lay the groundwork for a full frontal assault on Obama should another terrorist attack occur on American soil. Here’s Jeffrey Toobin:

Even worse than Cheney’s distortions was the political agenda behind them. The speech was, as politicians say, a marker—a warning to the new Administration. “Just remember: it is a serious step to begin unravelling some of the very policies that have kept our people safe since 9/11,” Cheney said. “Seven and a half years without a repeat is not a record to be rebuked and scorned, much less criminalized. It is a record to be continued until the danger has passed.” Cheney’s all but explicit message was that the blame for any new attack against American people or interests would be laid not on the terrorists, or on the worldwide climate of anti-Americanism created by the Bush-Cheney Administration, but on Barack Obama. For many months after the 9/11 attacks, Democrats refrained from engaging in the blame game with the Bush Administration. Cheney’s speech makes it clear that, should terrorists strike again, Republicans may not respond in kind.

One can only hope that the country is still capable of pulling together in a time of crisis if — FSM forbid — another act of terrorism takes place. However, Cheney’s remarks, and the behavior of the Right during the recent financial crisis don’t seem to bode well for comity in the face of adversity…